Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
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A14497
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Virgils Eclogues translated into English: by W.L. Gent; Bucolica. English
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Virgil.; Lathum, William.; Vives, Juan Luis, 1492-1540.
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1628
(1628)
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STC 24820; ESTC S119264
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75,407
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208
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han and I can versifie The Shepheards al 's ' forsooth say I'se a Bard But deele a bit doon I beleeve their lye For nought yet woorthy ' of Varus have I fram'd Ne learned Cynna's Eare but make a noice And muchilâ—like the gagling Goose have scram'd Amongst melodious Swans sweete tunefull voice Maer I am about it and I beate my brayne If I could call 't to mind and sooth the song Is worth the hearing and no common vayne Come hither Galatea there among The wastfull waves what pleasure's to bee found Heere is perpetuall spring all the yeere long Heere round about the pleasant streames the grownd Hath every way discolour'd flowers shedd Eke the white Popler and the plyant Vyne A shadie Canopy have heere dispredd And hand in hand over this Cave inclyne Come my deere Love let bee the Bedlam floods Against the shore to dash their surging sudds Lyci. But where 's the song which sitting all alone I heard thee sing in the cleere-star-bright night The tune I wote well but the words are gone Mar. Daphnis why doost thou still observe the site The rise and setting of the antick signes Dionâ—an-Caesars starr-s now come to light The starr in open hills which helpes the vynes In colours new the tidy Grapes to dye And glads the Eares of Corne with rich increase Observe it Daphnis and thy Peares thereby Graft thow and thy Posterity in peace By it their riper Apples gather shall But age reaves all mans mettle mynd and all Whole Summers dayes I oft in singing spent I well remember when I was a Ladd Now all 's forgot both songs and merriment And Maeris voice is quite decayd and badd Ere Maeris them the woolves han Maeris spyde But now inough of this Menalcas-selfe Heereof shall thee relate some other tyde Lyci. Ah what delayes and scuses doost thou find To while my Love though all things now invite Dead-calme the Sea and now behould the wynd And all the boystrous blasts are ceased quite Besides wee'have gone but halfe our Iourney yet For see Byanors Monument in sight Heere Maeris now wee 'll sing our Carolett Where the thick bowghs the Ploughmen woont to sheare Heere leave thy Goats wee time inough shall gett Vnto the Towne but if so bee wee feare Enaunter Night before doo gather rayne Let 's sing our way the shorter will appeare Vntill the Citty wee at last attaine And that wee may goe singing all the way Thy cumbrous loade my selfe I will defray Maer Leave Ladd of this now more at all to say And turne wee to our instant Business Wee better when hee comes shall to our songs address MAERIS The GLOSSE ILK mee a Poet bredd c. I feele in my selfe a kind of poeticall fury not so much by institution and gained by precept and rules as by divine inspiration For nought yet woorthy Varus c. I esteeme not my selfe a Poet though the world so esteeme mee because meethinks I have sung nothing which may seeme worthy the approbation of two so excellent Poets Cynna was a Poet who wrote a Poem intitled Smyrna which lay concealed as Quintilian affirmes thirty yeeres but it should seeme that it was wondrous acceptable to that age For many noble Grammarians wrote divers Comments upon it but Cato Grammaticus excelled them all therein as Suetâ—niuâ— reporteth though of so famous a worke there are but onely two verses extant which Servius citeth in his first booke upon the Georgicks And all ill lucke c. The Divell give him good c. This manner of sending presents may seeme to bee drawne from that which is reported of Hector and Aiax who beeing profest enemies sent each other a present which afterward proved very unlucky and fatall and therefore might seeme to bee ominously sent for the sword wherewith Aiax killed himselfe was sent him by Hector and Hector had the guirdle on which Aiax sent him when hee was thereby dragd up and downe the Towne of Troy after Achilles had slain him Menalcas thy deere c. By Menalcas is heere meant Virgil. Even to the water c. That is the River Myncius Did with his songs defend c. This hath relation to Virgil for whose sake the people of Maniua had their grounds restored to them again Come hither Galatea c. These words are spoken by Cyclops to Galatea and are taken out of Theâ—critus The Allegory is applyable to Augustus intreating him to return from the Sea-wars into Italy for Virgil often useth Galatea for Augustus as in the 3. Eclogue Mantua too too to c. The reason of this passionate Repetition depends on the story of Caesar who having overcome Anthony and the rest of the murtherers of Iulius Caesar gave the territory about Cremona which Citty had taken part against him for a prey to his souldiers which beeing not sufficient for the whole multitude every one some Augustus gave the Fields of the Mantuaus to be divided amongst them though not for any fault coÌ„mitted against him or his Father but meerely by reason of their vicinity lying so convenient upon the borders of Cremona The Cyrnean-Ewe c. The Taxus or Ewe-tree is held to bee venemous Corsica is full of this wood and this Iland in Greeke is called Cyrne of Cyrnus the sonn of Hercules if Bees eate heereof their hunny prooves extreme bitter therefore Lycidas prayes that Maeris his Bees may not tast of this unwholesome tree Daphnis why doost thou c. Thou shalt not neede to observe heereafter the ould and traditionary rising and setting of the starrs namely of the Ram-star the seven starrs Aryadnes Crowne the Canicular or Dog-star and the like in setting ploughing sowing planting and reaping Iulius Caesars one star will suffice in steed of all these neither need wee implore the help of any other Godhead but onely that fortunate and propitious Numen of Caesar under whose protection all things shall succeed most luckily unto us And because hee speakes of the rise and setting of the signes hee observes good decorum in saying hee sung of the Night and in a cleere Night seeing the course of the stars are theÌ„ best observed according to the manner which the Assyrians and the Aegyptians held who were the greatest Astronomers Caesar's starr's now come c. When Augustus Caesar did celebrate the funerall playes to his dead Father there appeared a starr at noone day which hee by a decree commanded to bee called his Fathers starr And Baebius Macer saith that Caesar affirmed it to bee his Fathers sowle and erected a statue thereunto upon the head whereof was placed a starr of gould and at the foote this inscription Caesari Ematheo Ere Mâ—ris them the woolves c. In these verses hee showes that hee hath lost his skill in singing which hee once had And by an Allegory doth demonstrate that his mind is opprest with misfortune Now to shew some reason for the loss of his voice hee hath relation to an ould received opinion that if
degenerate persons accept them onely for gaine and pleasure Bloody iuice c. This kinde of tree bare a white fruit at first and likewise the fruit yeelded a white juice but Pyramus and Thisbe having appointed to meete at this tree and afterward killing themselves under it they say that the Tree beeing tainted with the blood which sprinkled from their wounds hath ever since retained the colour of blood both in her fruite and the juice The like mutation is reported of the Rose which was also at first white but so it hapned that Venus running by the Rose bush and accidently scratching her tender foote it bled for which the Rose hath ever since been redd as blushing for shame of such her rudenesse Inough is yee c. It is enough that yee have found the Muses They shall not henceforth fly from you any more but willingly and gently they shall apply themselves to teach you whatsoever you desire Call for what songs yee list c. You men of understanding shall receive knowledge of what kinde soever you shall make choice to bestow your time in This shall bee the reward of your labours But the effeminate mindes shall have money and sordid gaine as the recompense of all they seeke after The Beasts did play c. Learning doth tame and mollifie rude and brutish mindes making them plyant and subject to order and reason Fauâ—es and Satyres were the gods of the woods a kinde of Monsters with heads like Men and bodies like Goates Ismarus and Rhodope c. Two Mountaines in Thrace the Country where Orpheus was borne The rigid Oakes c. Heere hee seemes to allude to those things which are reported of Orpheus Cicero in defence of the Poet Archia saith the woods and wildernesse doe answere to the voice and oftentimes the savage beasts are perswaded and stand at gaze at the sweetnesse and delight of Musick For Phaebus is not c. Indeed Phaebus and Orpheus sing sweeter but there is more learning and knowledge of matters worthy a mans understanding in Silenus his song and therefore more delight therein For why hee sung c. Hee taught and opened the causes and first principles and originall of things a matter most pleasing and delightfull out of the most abstruse and hidden points of Philosophy heere needes no Allegory Onely it teacheth that such kinde of subject conteining learning and knowledge and wise Philosophy ought truly and of right to bee the matter of a right Poets pen. The story of Pyrrha c. Servius heere moves the question why the Poet leaving the learned and wise discourse of the worlds originall and such like things sodainly passeth to the narration of fables To which hee answers that either it is because heerein hee houlds himselfe to the Epicurean manner which sect doth evermore purposely farse the most serious matters with some pretty pleasant passage or other or for that hee did apply himselfe to the nature and disposition of youth whose mynds are wonderfully inclined and apt to bee made bend and relent with fables which affoord matter of admiration for Fables were first invented to delight and refresh the hearts of men Now the fable heere of was this Iupiter hating the Gyants of the Earth for their cruelty and so likewise for their sakes all their posterity drowned all the whole earth except Pyrrha and Deucalion who escaped the deluge upon the huge mountaine Athos These two by Themis instruction by casting stones behynd them did thereof repaire mankynd againe Some report this fable and the cause of the deluge otherwise and that Pyrrha was daughter to Epimetheus and Deucalion sonne to Prometheus that on Parnassus hill they increased mankynd againe As also that the meaning of this fiction is that those few who escaped to the topp of this hill during the deluge hiding them amongst the bushes and rubbish of these rocky places and arising from thence afterward were said to bee made of the stones which upon the forsaking those strong places they left behynd them Moreover there were two generall deluges whereof stories report one in the reigne of Ogiges King of the Thebans the other in the time of Pyrrha and Deucalion And by these deluges is morally signified the alteration and mutation of times The Fowles of Caucasus That is the Eagle which fed upon Prometheus his heart upon the Hill Cancasus Prometheus theft The Poets feigne that this man made men induced thereunto because hee was the first who devised the making of Images and they feigne that hee went to heaven and stole fire from thence to inspire his men with life at which Iupiter beeing sore displeased bound him to the hill Caucasus and there set an Eagle to tyre and gnaw continually upon his heart The meaning of all which is this Prometheus according to the Etymology of the name was a very wise man for Prometheus is derived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Providence Hee was the first who taught the Assyrians the art of Astrology To which knowledge hee attained by observing the starrs on the high Mountain Caucasus where with great study and continuall paines hee did carefully and diligently frequent Now this Mountain in Assyria is so high that it is said to reach almost unto the stars so neere that upon it hee did observe and descry the greater stars together with the rising and setting of them all in their severall seasons and times And whereas an Eagle is said to eate his heart it hath relation to the curious scrutiny and deepe contemplation of his studious mynd ever busie in beating his braines for the finding out of the motions of the stars and celestiall Bodies the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying in Greeke an Eagle and Carefullnesse And because by wisdome and wondrous Prudence and understanding hee effected this by the help of Mercury who is the God of wisdome and reason among the heathen therefore hee is said to bee bound by Mercury to the Rock Caucasus alluding to the custome of great students who sit so close and continually at their bookes as if they were even tyed to their seates Hee found out also the reason of the Lightning and taught it unto men And thereupon sprang that part of the fable which saith hee stole fire from heaven For by a secret art which hee taught them posterity learned how to draw fire from heaven which proved very usefull to man whilst it was used to a right end But after once men abused it it turned to their destruction as wee reade in Livy of Tullus Hostilius who was consumed with all his his whole family by that kynd of fire and yet wee reade of Numa Pompilius that hee used it with very good successe imploying it onely in the sacrifices of the gods And this gives occasion to that part of the story which saith that the gods beeing angry at the stealing of fire from heaven sent downe diseases and Plagues upon the earth in revenge thereof